The present invention relates to a method for continuously peeling onion skins off the bulbs of onions and apparatus for carrying out the method.
An onion (Allium cepa) is a vegetable belonging to the family of Liliaceae and its bulb is used for food.
There have been needs for peeling onion skins off a number of onion bulbs within a short time. However, conventional mechanical methods have not been successful. Therefore the task of peeling has been carved out by the hands of workers.
In order to successfully solve the problem, a method has been proposed in the inventor's copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 06/371,473 filed on Apr. 23, 1982 for burning onion skins by the flames of gas burners and then washing with a shower of water the burned to ashes or carbonated skins off the onion bulbs. The copending application also discloses apparatus for carrying out the method. The proposed method is suitable for business or commercial use, for example, in a cooking factory where a large quantity of worked onions are cooked within a short period of time. However, for domestic or home use only small units of worked onions are sold, and it takes considerable time for transportation, charge and laying out for purchase, for example, at super markets. Any remaining water on the bulbs is apt to be a cause for decomposition. For this reason the troublesome peeling has been carved out by hand for domestic or home use.
Further, the bulb of an onion has a strong irritating ingredient which is generated when the onion skins are peeled. And this makes the peeling process uncomfortable.
The present invention provides a method of peeling the skins of a large quantity of onions without the use of human hands and without using a shower of water for peeling, cleaning and other processes.
The present invention further provides an onion skin peeling apparatus for carrying out the method.